Column: A month out from NFL free agency, there’s no need to overcomplicate the Chicago Bears’ plan — it starts up front

In extolling the Chicago Bears’ decision to hire Ryan Poles as general manager a little more than a year ago, former Boston College coach Tom O’Brien explained that Poles’ background would be highlighted on the job.

“Offensive linemen, they view the world in a different prism than most people do,” said O’Brien, who coached Poles at BC. “But I think it’s the right thing. If you can understand the game up front on the offensive line, you have a chance to be pretty good at football.”

Experience as a college lineman isn’t required to see where the Bears’ launching point should be in free agency, which opens one month from today on March 15.

There’s no way to sugarcoat the plain truth the Bears were brutal on the defensive line in 2022, undermanned throughout the season. They couldn’t stop the run or pressure quarterbacks, a recipe for disaster.

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The Bears need to make improvements on the offensive line as well, and while they could look to fortify many other areas of a young roster that gained valuable experience during a 3-14 season — think wide receiver, cornerback, weak-side linebacker — don’t overcomplicate what the top goals should be at Halas Hall over the next month.

The Bears wasted no time turning the page to next season, tweeting almost immediately after the Kansas City Chiefs’ victory in Super Bowl LVII on Sunday night that “2023 starts now.” It actually began in the second week of January for Poles, coach Matt Eberflus and their staffs. On Monday morning the Bears announced a draft party — now 71 nights away — and there will be great buildup to the event with curiosity surrounding the team’s plans for the No. 1 pick.

Depending on how things unfold in April with a potential trade — or perhaps multiple deals — the Bears could wind up with an immense amount of draft capital, putting them in position to add exciting young talent not only this year but perhaps in 2024 too.

The first piece of the roster puzzle — and turnover will be high again this offseason — is free agency. After almost exclusively budget shopping a year ago and getting precisely what they paid for, the Bears figure to be involved with some of the bigger names on the market, especially linemen.

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While neither pass rush made a huge impact in the Super Bowl, the Eagles (70) and Chiefs (55) were tops in the league in sacks this past season. The Bears finished last with only 20.

Eberflus has called the three-technique tackle the “engine” of his defense, and the Bears used Justin Jones there in 2022 after signing him to a two-year, $12 million contract. Jones was Plan B after a proposed three-year, $40.5 million deal for Larry Ogunjobi fell through following a physical. Ogunjobi would have been far and away Poles’ largest contractual commitment.

There’s a good chance the Bears aim higher this offseason. Dre’Mont Jones of the Denver Broncos is likely to reach free agency and is ideally suited at three technique. Daron Payne of the Washington Commanders could be a target if he isn’t re-signed or tagged. The more options, the better.

The window for teams to use the franchise or transition tag runs from Feb. 21 through March 7. While the Bears won’t tag anyone, it’s worth monitoring which players get secured by other teams.

Yes, the Bears need edge rushers after rookie safety Jaquan Brisker led the defense with four sacks, but it’s far more difficult to find disruptive interior linemen than athletic bodies that can bend on the edge. The draft is much deeper with defensive ends than premier interior players, and filling that need in free agency would create more options in the draft. Poles needs almost everything when it comes to the front seven on defense, but it has to start at tackle.

On the offensive line, it’s a decent bet the Bears will move quickly to sign a right tackle. They might be in play for Orlando Brown Jr. if the Chiefs don’t keep him — and he would be the new starting left tackle — but Poles has expressed faith in Braxton Jones after the 2022 fifth-round pick was the only offensive player to log every snap. If the Bears believe Jones is trending upward, they could focus on right tackle, where they’ve had a different Week 1 starter for three consecutive years.

Mike McGlinchey of the San Francisco 49ers, Jawaan Taylor of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Kaleb McGary of the Atlanta Falcons are potential free agents. McGlinchey, 28, hasn’t lived up to his status as the ninth pick of the 2018 draft, but he’s a mauler in the run game and he has played in a similar offensive scheme.

Right tackles used to make substantially less than left tackles, but the best ones are earning big pay these days. Six right tackles are averaging more than $15 million per season, an indication of what signing one of the top free agents at the position could cost.

Remember, deals in the opening hours of free agency are almost always inflated. That’s the nature of free agency, and that’s why Poles has said repeatedly he wants to be calculated. Expect him to be aggressive pursuing players he deems part of a long-term fix, not a short-term solution.

“You can always recover from the player you didn’t sign,” Poles said last spring. “You can’t recover from the player that you signed at the wrong price, and we’ve got to be conscious of that.”

According to Spotrac.com, the Bears currently have $98 million in cap space, far and away the most in the league. Poles can make a lot of moves to upgrade the roster, and that process will play out over months. The Bears will be No. 1 in the waiver wire order through Week 3 of next season, and they’ll closely monitor veterans whom other teams release throughout the spring and summer.

Big plans for free agency have to begin with big men up front because until the Bears improve in the trenches, no other moves will make a substantive difference. Poles is a former lineman, and so is assiatant GM Ian Cunningham. They have to see this clearly.